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gremlin-grumbles · 2 months ago

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October 14th: Aiden

This is part 1 of a series focusing on each of the main six’s birthdays!

Side note: all of these mini fanfics will only include platonic relationships. I’m not going to involve any romantic connotation between characters.

Aiden’s ended up being a lot longer than I originally planned to but in any case enjoy!

Aiden’s birthday had never been anything special. Sure, his parents always left him a gift card and a fancy cake from a pastry shop but that was the extent of it. No celebration, no party, and never any friends to share the day with.

But this year, things were different.

At 11:55 PM Aiden remembered it was almost his birthday. A bittersweet feeling washed over him—part excitement, part preemptive disappointment.

He didn’t want to admit how fast he was refreshing his messages, or how often he glanced at the door, half expecting some surprise from Ben.

But nothing came.

By 12:30 AM he’d accepted it, nothing special was happening. He wouldn’t admit he was disappointed…but he was. Kind of embarrassed too for getting his hopes up. He had even gone to check on Ben, only to find him fast asleep.

He lay back in bed, eyes heavy not from tiredness but from that emotionally drained feeling that comes when you’re trying too hard not to feel let down. He imagined what the morning would bring probably a note from his parents in the living room, something like:

“Dear Aiden, sorry we can’t be there right now you know me and your father are quite busy with work. Have the loveliest birthday, son. We’ve left some cash on the table for you, Ben, and your friends to get something nice to eat. There’s cake in the fridge. Love you, son.”

And with that thought, he drifted off to sleep, knowing that the day to come would simply stack onto the ones he’d eventually forget.

He woke suddenly to the sound of a small rock hitting his window. Confused, he peeked outside and saw… Tyler?

“Get your ass down here, sleeping beauty” Tyler called up. “I’ve been waiting for you to drag yourself out of bed for at least 10 minutes”

Still half asleep, Aiden stumbled downstairs and opened the door… and froze.

There they all were.

His friends.

Before he could process it, bright red fireworks burst into the sky. (Ashlyn, had brought her most effective earplugs for the occasion.)

Aiden stared, stunned. Taylor was holding a bunch of balloons, and Ashlyn stood beside her with a cake in her hands, the words

Happy Birthday Aiden <3 were scrawled in what looked like Taylor’s handwriting. The tiny heart at the end gave it away.

“Did you guys… do all this for me?” Aiden asked, still in disbelief.

“No,” Tyler deadpanned. “This is just our usual 7 AM hangout. We just stopped by to say hi.”

“Don’t listen to smart pants over there,” Taylor cut in, beaming. “Of course this is for you! Happy birthday, Aiden!” She ran up and hugged him so hard it nearly knocked him off his feet.

He was speechless.

“What, nothing witty to say back?” Tyler teased.

“I think he’s having a stroke,” Ashlyn added flatly.

“Guys, give him a break,” Logan said. “oh and happy birthday Aiden!”

“Happy birthday” Ashlyn added, her voice warm.

“Yeah, happy birthday, loser” Tyler said, with his usual sarcastic tone in his voice

Ben was standing next to them holding a card that read “Happy Birthday Aiden” with a big smile in his face

Aiden’s cheeks were burning. No one had ever done anything like this for him before. He felt warm, light headed but in the best way. He smiled, truly, and for once it reached all the way to his eyes.

“Come inside” he said, voice full of more joy than he realized.

They crowded into the living room. Aiden sat in the middle of the couch while the others gathered around and sang to him. When he blew out the candles, a weird kind of peace settled over him like the happiness was stitched into his chest. At the same time, he felt an overwhelming surge of excitement, like he was about to burst. Adrenaline was racing through his veins, and an intense wave of happiness washed over him.

Then came the gifts.

“You guys didn’t have to get me anything, I—”

“Stop being so nice and humble” Tyler cut in immediately. “You’re starting to sound like Logan, I’m getting kinda freaked out here”

Logan looked mildly offended but said nothing.

Taylor clapped her hands. “Okay! Time for gifts, mine first, mine first! I REALLY hope you like it I’m really proud of it”

“She really is,” Ashlyn mumbled. “She hasn’t stopped rumbling about it all week.”

Aiden took the gift from her carefully wrapped in heart-patterned paper and felt a weird anticipation as he peeled it open.

It was a skateboard.

And not just any skateboard. This one was hand-made, painted in all his favorite colors with funky doodles and smiley faces. The best part? Everyone had signed it in different ink. In the back it read, with love, Taylor.

The words curving gently along the edge.

His eyes lit up. “You made this?”

She nodded nervously. “Do you like it? I hope it’s not bad”

“Are you kidding? It’s perfect!” He exclaimed

“Check this out” He started to stand up excitedly, to go try it out immediately, but Tyler stopped him. “Lucky for you, I knew you’d do that, that’s why my gift is the sequel to Tay’s.”

Curious, Aiden tore into Tyler’s gift next. Inside was a full set of safety gear knee and hand pads, and a red helmet with shark teeth painted on it.

Aiden burst into fake tears. “Bro… come on… give me a hug!”

Tyler leaned back, cringing, and shoved a hand in Aiden’s face to keep him away. The others cracked up at their usual antics.

Then it was Ben’s turn. He handed Aiden his phone which had a playlist filled with all of Aiden’s favorite songs plus a few new ones he hadn’t seen before but knew he was gonna love. Aiden immediately pulled him into a hug, 99% of his music taste came from Ben’s recommendations and he could always count on him to get it right.

But that wasn’t the end.

Ben handed him a plushie one that was soft and huggable, and could even double as an stress-relief toy. Aiden thought it was perfect but what he didn’t know until he accidentally pressed its chest was that it could actually sing and it started playing Aiden’s all-time favorite song. Aiden couldn’t help but smile. He knew Ben had picked it because this song always lifted his mood when he was feeling down. Ben’s heart warmed at Aiden’s reaction, feeling content that he’d gotten it just right.

Next was Logan’s turn. He looked nervous as he held out his gift.

Logan handed Aiden a book shaped gift, and for a split second, Aiden panicked. He was definitely not a book guy and the last thing he wanted was to feel guilty about never reading some novel Logan carefully picked out.

But this book… was different.

It was the only kind of book Aiden would ever be excited to open: a photo album. Or rather, a scrapbook. The cover was decorated with photos of all of them together, random stickers, smiley faces, little flowers, and those sparkly things Taylor was probably responsible for sneaking in.

Inside were pictures of them doing all sorts of dumb things, blurry selfies, inside jokes, each page dated and paired with a little note from Logan. Some were sarcastic. Some were sweet. All of them made Aiden smile.

Logan rubbed the back of his neck. “I know it’s not much, but… we’ve all gone through a lot together this year. I thought this could be a sort of… wrap-up.”

None of the others had seen the gift before Logan had refused to show it to anyone, worried it wouldn’t measure up. At that moment though he couldn’t help but feel a little proud.

“No, it’s- I mean-I just- I love it,” Aiden said, a little choked up. And he did love it. How could he not?

He could already picture himself pulling this out on a rough day, flipping through the pages when the world felt like it was too much to handle and remembering that all these moments were real. They were real. These people, his people, made him feel seen.

Of course, he didn’t say all that out loud. Instead, he just grinned and muttered, “It’s amazing. Thank you, dude!”

Then came Ashlyn.

Aiden had absolutely no idea what to expect from her. She walked up to him with the most serious expression imaginable, either super awkward or possibly about to gift him a weapon and placed a small envelope in his hand.

He opened it.

VIP tickets. To see his favorite parkour athlete live and not just watch but join in. It was an interactive experience. Training, tricks, the whole thing. He stared at the tickets like they might disappear.

He’d rambled about wanting to go to this event endlessly since it was announced. From the moment he met Ashlyn, he hadn’t stopped talking about all sorts of things, but he never thought she actually cared. And apparently… she had listened. She really listened and remembered how much he liked this.

What kind of person had he been, to deserve friends like these?

He didn’t know what to say. All he could feel was this overwhelming wave of gratitude — like he could drop to the floor or launch himself into orbit and still not express how lucky he felt in that moment. He could die now, and it’d be fine.

Or maybe… maybe he could live. Live to see more birthdays like this one. More days like this. More time with them.

The rest of the day was just as chaotic and perfect as the morning. They watched marvel movies, went to the park, and spent hours hanging out

Aiden doing every stupid, borderline dangerous thing imaginable (which was allowed because hey, it was his day)

When the sun went down, they all crashed at his place for a sleepover.

Later that night, as Aiden curled up on the couch with the others piled around him, blankets everywhere, someone already snoring, he smiled to himself.

He was tired. Full. Not just from cake or sugar highs, but from something deeper. A feeling that hadn’t come around often.

He had more to look forward to tomorrow. And the day after that.

This day was something to remember.

And with that last thought, he closed his eyes and dreamed of more days like this one.

#can you guys tell I’m really bad at thinking of gifts LMAO #do you ever love someone so much you want to live just to spend the rest of your lives together #I had fun writing this but I hope I don’t regret posting this in the morning #they definitely had trouble figuring out what to get him since he’s super rich #that’s why I made all the gifts sentimental #anyways Aiden loves his friends so much I feel like we don’t talk about it enough #thinking about his birthdays before meeting them is a different kind of pain #let’s not waterdown Aiden’s character growth and love for his friends for the sake of a ship guys🙏#I’m not getting more specific but I said what I said #sbg #school bus graveyard #sbg webtoon #ashlyn banner #ashlyn sbg #taylor hernandez #taylor sbg #tyler hernandez #tyler sbg #ben clark #ben sbg #aiden clark #aiden sbg #gremlingrumbles

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gremlin-grumbles · 2 months ago

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Hernandez Twins Analysis / Taylor’s perspective (chapter 34)

Before the Season 1 finale there aren’t many instances where Taylor breaks character or openly shows signs of unhappiness regarding her personal life. That’s why I wanted to discuss a small but significant moment in chapter 34 that i haven’t seen anyone else discussing

In this scene Aiden yells Ashlyn’s name when a phantom grabs her and drags her into the ceiling. Immediately Taylor is worried and wants to check out what happened. However Tyler, being an overprotective brother and knowing better than to let her walk into a dangerous, unknown situation, stops her. Instead he tells her to look for the car keys while he goes to see what’s wrong

I want to focus on Taylor’s reaction after this.

She goes silent looking skeptical. On the surface this could be because she’s worried about their situation but I want to take it a step further I think she feels guilty in that moment.

Before Season 2 we didn’t know much about the twins’ past. Even when we did learn about it we mostly got Tyler’s perspective, his sacrifices, how he took on a parental role for both Taylor and their mother, and how he became their caretaker

Taylor was too young and too emotionally damaged at the time their dad passed to fully understand the weight of Tyler’s promise to always take care of them and he never wavered from that promise.

But one thing we only understand if we get in Taylor’s shoes is that Tyler isn’t Tay’s father or a parental figure, he’s her twin. They are equals in every way. Yet he constantly puts himself in danger for her sake. While this makes Taylor feel loved and protected it also fills her with guilt. She knows Tyler doesn’t do it out of control or obligation but out of unconditional love so it only makes her feel selfish when she questions his decisions or makes her worried that she isn’t being grateful enough.

Tyler’s pure intentions, however, don’t change the fact that he carries the weight of their family’s pain alone. She knows she can always rely on him but deep down she wants that to be mutual.

She wants to protect him. She wants to prove she can handle these situations so he doesn’t always have to. But because she loves him she doesn’t want to put more problems on his plate. So instead, she takes on the role of the emotionally supportive one, the one who always knows what to say, who is kind, who is grateful.

That’s her way of helping.

But at her core, she wants so badly to break character, to cry, to yell, to be angry. She wants to show her brother I can take care of myself so you can focus on yourself too. She knows he doesn’t see her as weak but no matter what she does it never feels like enough

not compared to everything he’s done for her

So in this brief moment, she reflects. The guilt creeps in. Why does he always have to be the one to put himself in danger? I should be the one to do it.

I believe it’s important to explore the negative and selfish emotions each character experiences without fear of judgment. Taylor is afraid to be selfish because she recognizes everything Tyler has done for her but precisely because she’s a traumatised 15year old girl it’s normal for her think

Why won’t my brother open up to me? Why won’t he let me help him? I’m capable of protecting him too

After all they’re just teenagers navigating situations that are far from normal or healthy.

#finally finished an analysis so I can prove to myself I can write…#then I remember I have 5 other unfinished analyses waiting for me in my notes 💀#anyways I love Taylor so much #poor girl probably feels like there’s so little space for her to be a kid who GRIEVES that goes for tyler too #not letting yourself show negative emotions in order to not upset others #while having to watch your twin slowly lose and destroy himself #due to the responsibilities life has placed on his shoulders #and blaming yourself for that too #they’re so tragic help #ugh I just love them both so much the Hernandez family is so tragic #say it with me: the Hernandez family is doomed by life #the tags are literally a post of their own lol #school bus graveyard #sbg #sbg webtoon #taylor hernandez #taylor sbg #tyler sbg #tyler hernandez #I love the hernandez twins #hernandez family #hernandez twins #gremlingrumbles

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gremlin-grumbles · 2 months ago

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December 18th: Logan

This is part 2 of a series focusing on each of the main six’s birthdays and let me tell you it’s a lot more angsty than Aiden’s and I may or may have not spent all night writing it so cheers to that!

Side note: all of these mini fanfics will only include platonic relationships. I’m not going to involve any romantic connotation between characters.

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Anxious.

If Logan could be described in one word, it would be that, anxious. It was always there, like a shadow trailing behind him. He didn’t know whether it came from the fear of someone leaving—like his parents did—or from the constant feeling that he didn’t belong. Maybe it was the creeping thought that people hated him or maybe it was the threats from Barron at school. He couldn’t pin it down. All he knew was that he felt it now. Heavy. Suffocating. His skin was warm, his breath uneven, his heart racing and he doesn’t know how to stop.

He knew his grandparents were going to come In a few minutes with a homemade cake, singing to him. He’d smile, blow out the candles, let his grandma attack him with kisses then they’d hug him and tell him how proud of him they were. He loved them so much. Normally, he could mask a panic attack well enough. But tonight, the weight of school, of being “on” all the time, of everything—it was too much to bear. He just wanted to disappear. Curl into bed and pretend to be asleep until he actually was. Maybe then, he could stop thinking.

The time read 11:59. He could hear his grandma’s footsteps.

He frantically wiped at his tears, but the damage was done. His face was red, damp. His grandma opened the door with a big smile, one that quickly faded.

“Logan, sweetie… what’s wrong?”

He couldn’t answer. He just shook his head, hiding his face in his hands, whispering that he was fine. She didn’t need to worry. But she did. She always did.

Then came footsteps. More of them. Then—balloons. Confetti. A birthday cake. And all his friends—frozen in the doorway, wide eyed.

All except one.

“Happy birthday, dear Logan!” Aiden sang cheerfully, mid confetti pop, right before Tyler smacked him.

“Read the room, dumbass” Tyler hissed.

“Oops—I thought those were tears of joy…” Aiden muttered.

“Logan? What’s wrong?” Taylor asked, her voice soft, concerned.

Oh god. No. No, no, no. They were all here. And he was crying.

Why do I have to be like this? Why am I even crying for?! Why can’t I be normal for once? I’m so pathetic.

He stayed silent. Too silent. The kind that made everything worse. He stared at their faces, all frozen in a mix of confusion and concern, and it hit him like a wave—he ruined it. Of course he did. They tried to do something kind, something thoughtful, and he wrecked it with his emotions. His anxiety. His tears. He was always the weakest link, wasn’t he? No matter how hard he tried to be okay, to hold it together, it always ended like this. He knew deep down that even if his friends said otherwise, even if they insisted they didn’t see him that way, he wasn’t like them. They can actually handle things, bounce back. He couldn’t. He was fragile, emotional, exhausting. And now, he had turned what was supposed to be a celebration into a scene. Again. He immediately looked down in order to avoid their gaze.

“I should give you kids some space,” his grandma said softly, stepping back.

His grandpa nodded and gently closed the door behind them. His friends set the cake down. One by one, they sat on the floor around his bed. Logan still couldn’t look up.

Taylor sat beside him and asked again, gently “What’s wrong, buddy?”

What was wrong? He didn’t even know how to answer. It was just his birthday. A day that was supposed to be joyful. But also the day he was born. The day he last saw his parents. He didn’t even remember them. He hated that he couldn’t remember. Were they happy to see him? Would they be happy to see him now?

But he couldn’t say any of that. It would ruin the night even more.

So instead, he forced out, “It’s nothing. I think I just had a bad day. Haha. Sorry for ruining this, guys.”

The others exchanged glances.

“You know you can tell us if something’s wrong, right?” Taylor said softly, reaching for his hand.

Ben nodded in agreement.

Aiden chimed in “Yeah, this is a judgment free zone. Except for maybe Tyler.”

“Watch it, idiot” Tyler shot back. “But… he’s right. Screw the birthday. We’ve got a whole day to celebrate you or whatever.”

“Yeah, let’s get in the feels” Aiden added with jazz hands.

Logan took a breath. “Guys… it’s nothing. I just—when I have an anxiety attack, I don’t know how to stop it or control it. I can’t breathe or talk or handle my emotions. It feels like my brain’s gonna burst. I didn’t mean for you to see me like this. And I didn’t mean for you to see this. This is such an inconvenience and—” He stopped himself, realizing he was rambling. It made everything worse.

He braced himself for awkward silence.

But Tyler, of all people spoke up

“I used to get panic attacks a few years ago.”

Logan looked up. Tyler wasn’t sarcastic. He wasn’t teasing. He was just… honest.

“It sucks. But I read somewhere about this method—it’s called the 5-4-3-2-1 trick. You focus on 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell, 1 you can taste. It doesn’t always fix it, but sometimes it helps calm your brain down.”

Aiden blinked. “That’s probably the smartest thing you’ve said all week” Aiden said mockingly “Kinda sweet. For you, anyway.” a little quieter this time.

“Wow. Thank you, Doctor Dumbass” Tyler shot back.

“Hey, man, I meant it in a positive way! I feel you, seriously. Anxiety attacks are the worst and they sneak up on you when you least expect it.”

Watching Aiden being so serious all of a sudden felt like this was a dream but he still appreciated it.

Their dumb antics were annoying, sure. But somehow they made Logan laugh. Just a little. But it was enough. The others joined in, slowly easing into the moment. What followed was a night of talking, of sharing. Aiden told a wild story about getting his foot stuck in a toolbox—nearly cutting his finger toe off, Ben elaborated more about the fear of singing again through text-to-speech, Ashlyn opened up about her childhood, and the twins shared embarrassing stories about their old Halloween costumes their parents made them wear.

His parents weren’t here but the people who were here? They stayed. They stayed up with him until 6 a.m., slept for two hours, then got up again to sing him happy birthday all over again—this time with a proper party— and many polaroids of all of them being idiots together.

It made him feel light. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation or the high of being loved, but he was talking without filtering himself, saying the dumbest things and laughing too hard—but he was happy. Truly happy.

And that’s what he needed.

People who made him feel seen. Special. Important.

And he had five of them, currently on his couch, yelling at the TV because he was beating them in every video game.

Ironic—since Tyler and Aiden had unknowingly bought two different new-release video games, both confident they’d crush him—only to get destroyed within minutes.

Taylor got him an astrology book he’d been searching for forever and even crafted a beautiful wooden constellation lamp. Logan nearly cried on the spot.

Ashlyn awkwardly gave him a telescope with a note tucked in the box: “I know this is basic, but I researched to find the best one. I hope it’s okay.” She didn’t know her gift would make him hug her so tight she actually stayed, silently indulging it.

Then Ben handed him a paper wrapped gift. Inside, a T-shirt with his astrology sign on it. He immediately knew whose merch line this was. It had the logo of one from his favorite astrology/physics YouTuber. Logan gasped so loud they all laughed. He wore it immediately. Ben smiled for thirty minutes straight.

And just when he thought it couldn’t get better—

“So…” Ashlyn began.

“CAN I SAY IT?!” Taylor cut in.

Everyone nodded.

Taylor grinned “There’s one more thing, for your birthday. We’re all going together.”

Ashlyn handed him an envelope.

“It’s for tomorrow,” Ashlyn explained. “They didn’t have openings today but it still counts.”

He stared at the tickets. His mouth dropped open.

“You guysss—did you really—? I just—this is all—”

He tried to speak—but the tears came faster. Everyone panicked.

“They’re happy tears! I swear!” he gasped.

Ashlyn patted his head awkwardly. “Shhh. You’re okay. It’s all good, buddy.”

That night, after everyone left, Logan went to his room, found the polaroid photos from their makeshift 6 a.m. party, and smiled.

Then, his grandparents peeked in.

“What?” he asked.

His grandma chuckled. “Nothing. You just look… peaceful.”

His grandpa kissed his forehead. “Happy birthday, son.”

He pinned the pictures to his wall. Smiled at each one. Laid in bed, wrapped in warmth and gratitude.

Tomorrow was the planetarium.

His breathing was even. No tears. Just calm.

It felt like all the noise had quieted.

Luminous.

If he had to describe his birthday in one word he’d say the day felt luminous.

He glanced at the polaroids again, each one glowing in the soft light and fell asleep.

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Hope you enjoyed this emotional rollercoaster as much as i enjoyed writing it, I actually really like how it turned out:)

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gremlin-grumbles · 2 months ago

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“Show Me How” by Men I Trust is so Ashlyn Banner-coded, not in a romantic sense but in the aching, wordless way someone loves their friends so deeply they forget how to carry it.

Ashlyn has always kept people at arm’s length not out of cruelty but out of habit. Because being distant was easier than being known and silence always felt safer than vulnerability.

But then they came.

And not gently, not gradually, she didn’t have the time to think, to react, to push them away, they were forced into her life, into her space, into the cracked-open parts of her she never meant to share.

And they stayed.

They saw all of her sharp edges, rough corners, every scar and still, they chose her. Over and over again, they chose to escape this hellhole with her.

So now she’s learning. Slowly.

How to hold that kind of love without breaking apart. How to let herself feel the warmth, to understand it, to realize she wants it. That she wants them in her life.

She doesn’t know how to say it but it’s there, in every action, every quiet choice to stay close. In the way she’d throw herself between danger and someone else without hesitation, in the way she’d descend into the deepest parts of hell just to make sure they’re safe. She doesn’t stop to think or weigh the consequences, she just acts, stepping in front of danger so that they don’t have to face it.

Because Ashlyn loves so fiercely, so fully, it terrifies her. Because she knows the lengths she would go to for them.

And it’s a blessing to have them, really, to love someone so deeply, with such ease. But at the same time, the guilt she carries if one of them gets hurt, the trembling fear that they might not all make it out alive, that’s the curse she has to bear.

She chooses her friends over herself again and again, not because she thinks she’s worthless but because their safety is sacred.

Because they love her, and that love is a lifeline.

It’s her strength. It’s what keeps her fighting keeps her here. They all need to make it out alive, to stay together, to not lose each other, to learn, to heal, to grow—to do all of it together.

This song is about how hard it is for her to unlearn isolation and how powerful it is to be known and loved anyway.

And how, even when she doesn’t have the words she’s still trying to show them how much she cares.

#is this convincing enough that my ashlyn analysis is gonna eat #jokes aside i love her so much #she has so much love to give #and aside from the badass aspect of her personality she’s such a realistic complex and beautifully written character #Ashlyn Banner you will always be famous #sbg #sbg webtoon #school bus graveyard #ashlyn banner #ashlyn sbg #ashlyn banner sbg #gremlingrumbles #Spotify

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